Non-aligned interests also apply to almost any service you can imagine. Teachers have conflicts of interest in showing students alternative ways to learn. Denti

Non-aligned interests also apply to almost any service you can imagine. Teachers have conflicts of interest in showing students alternative ways to learn. Dentists want more expensive jobs so find more worthwhile cavities to fix. Journalists want attention so find the spectacles instead of deeper value… The only problem with buyer's agents is the pretense that they strictly are on your side and have no conflicts of interest. A buyer's agent who explicitly acknowledges their conflict of interest and discusses that with a client is as good as you can get for reasonable and honestly, valuable service. Personally, I'm buying a home with help from a buyer's agent, and our agent has been so wonderfully helpful, was willing to admit his conflicts of interest, and emphasized that he'd rather us feel everything about the process (including getting the best price or missing a house to wait longer for the right one) was aligned with his interests because he values our review and referrals to others. He's interested in sustaining a long-term successful career rather than the immediate pay-off. That aligns his interests with ours more. He's also done a ton of good work and even been a great help as someone to discuss all steps of the process.